Law Firm Marketing Consultant : Larry Bodine Law Marketing Blog : Law firm marketing, legal marketing, attorney marketing, business development, sales training, practice development, training, marketing consultant, legal consultant, individual lawyer coaching, business development, client team, practice development, business development, law firm coach

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You can learn the best practices to manage RFP responses and maximize your winning percentage at our December 12 Webinar: How To Win A Competitive Proposal Process. Avoid the mistakes of winging your proposal, and follow the rules described by business development experts Gail Huneryager, Director of Business Development, Crowe & Dunlevey; Michael Cummings and me.

Click here to sign up for this event, coming up this Wednesday.

More clients are opening their business to a competitive proposal process –- where two, three or more equally qualified firms vie for the business.

Yet, many firms and attorneys wing it in these situations. They mistakenly think that if they convincingly pitch and persuasively promote throughout the process, then they will win the client over. Instead, this approach leads to:

• Wasted time pursuing business you will never win.
• Missed opportunities to turn the process to your advantage.
• Lost business that you could have won.
• Failing to help clients that you are best suited to serve their needs.
• Reverting to cutting fees or begging for the business

Let other firms make these mistakes. Instead learn the best practices both within the legal community and from related professions. Manage these proposal opportunities and perform in a manner that maximizes your winning percentage.

Topics covered include:

• Deciding whether to pursue the opportunity using (go/no-go) analysis
• Qualifying the client using the "RAIN" process -- rapport, aspirations and affliction, impact and new reality.
• Getting the client to define the value proposition that will win
• Determining how you can differentiate your firm in ways that matter to
  the decision makers
• How to change the rules to make the process work for you
• Questions you must ask in every competitive proposal situation
• Getting the client to write the proposal for you
• What to do if you are not the first choice initially
• Research the client's business "pain" -- what drove them to issue the RFP.  Learn the client's business and industry trends affecting it.
• Crafting a solution that involves saving money, speeding up their sales, helping them make money, eliminating obstacles to making money.
• Presenting the solution with a picture, a chart a graph or a table.